Apple gives 16GB iPod touch a camera, lowers prices on all models

Minor refresh doesn't address the device's aging internals.

The fifth-gen iPod touch gets a mild refresh a few months before the release of iOS 8.

Andrew Cunningham

Apple quietly refreshed its iPod touch lineup this morning, adding a camera to the previously camera-free 16GB model and lowering prices across the lineup. The 16GB model is now $199 instead of $229; the 32GB model is $249 instead of $299; and the 64GB model is $299 instead of $399.

Further Reading

A huge upgrade over its predecessor, but the $299 iPod touch is no impulse buy.

This iPod touch hardware was originally released back in late 2012, a little over a year and a half ago. Whether this minor refresh precludes the possibility of a more extensive refresh later in the year isn't clear. iPods have typically been refreshed in September, but Apple has diminished the attention it lavishes on the lineup as it has contributed less and less revenue to the bottom line.

While the iPod touch will be supported by iOS 8 when the update is released this fall, its hardware is definitely feeling a little slow compared to newer iPhones and iPads. The touch still uses an Apple A5 SoC with 512MB of RAM, a chip much like the one in the iPhone 4S, and it is now two hardware generations behind—both the A6 and A7 are much faster than the A5, and they both double the RAM to 1GB. Assuming Apple releases a new iPhone with a new A8 chip in the fall, it will fall even further behind. The new prices make the iPods a slightly better deal—just keep in mind that software support past iOS 8 isn't very likely.

Andrew Cunningham / Andrew has a B.A. in Classics from Kenyon College and has over five years of experience in IT. His work has appeared on Charge Shot!!! and AnandTech, and he records a weekly book podcast called Overdue.